Weather Balloon Station

The weather balloon station at the Cape is capable of launching,
tracking and receiving environmental data from balloons carrying
data transmission units to high altitudes. Techniques for receiving
the data have changed over the years as technology has provided more
efficient and accurate methods of sending the data.

Most balloons carried aloft a small box containing weather sensor
and a transmitter to returning the information to the same weather
station that launched the balloon. The weather sensors returned
information such as temperature, humidity and barometric pressure.
Actually tracking the balloon could provide additional information
concerning high altitude wind direction and speed.

Early balloons
were tracked using the
Meteorological Sounding System Antenna, a dish antenna mounted
inside a protective radome. The radome containing the antenna, is now an exhibit
at the museum.

Current systems still carry the normal weather measuring sensors
and transmitter, but the need for tracking the package from the
ground is no longer necessary. A Global Positioning System (GPS)
device inside the package provides tracking information to the
transmitter for relay back to the ground site. In effect, the
balloon sensor package tells the ground station where it is at all
times.

At the end of a mission, usually triggered by the bursting of the
balloon at high altitude, results in a small parachute being
deployed so that the package is returned gently to the ground to
minimize potential damage to anything on the ground. There was a time when people were
encouraged to mail any found sensors back to a supply point, but the
inexpensive nature of the devices has made that process uneconomical
and unnecessary.